Wearable device and translation system

ABSTRACT

In a wearable translation device, the control circuit obtains an audio signal of the second language, which has been converted from a first audio signal of the first language, and obtains a second audio signal of the first language reconverted from the audio signal of the second language. The first speaker device converts the audio signal of the second language into a first voice and outputs the first voice. The second speaker device converts the second audio signal of the first language into a second voice and outputs the second voice. The audio processing circuit executes such a process that the second voice from the second speaker device is directed toward an auditory part of a user, based on a position of the auditory part relative to the second speaker device.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a wearable device that is attached toa user's body to be used for automatically translating conversationsbetween speakers of different languages in real time.

2. Description of the Related Art

According to development of techniques of speech recognition, machinetranslation, and voice synthesis, translation devices that automaticallytranslate conversations between speakers of different languages in realtime have been known. Such translation devices include portable orwearable devices.

For example, when utterance from a speaker of a first language to aspeaker of a second language is translated by using a translationdevice, the speaker of the first language desires to check if contentsof the translated utterance are correct or not. For this purpose, forexample, PTL 1 and PTL 2 disclose a translation device that retranslatesutterance, which has been translated from a first language into a secondlanguage, into the first language and feeds back the retranslatedutterance to the speaker of the first language. The translation devicedisclosed in PTL 1 and PTL 2 uses a display or a voice to feed back theretranslated result to the speaker of the first language.

CITATION LIST Patent Literatures

PTL 1: Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. 2001-222531

PTL 2: Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. 2007-272260

PTL 3: International Publication No. 2013/105413

PTL 4: Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. 2012-093705

The entire disclosures of these Patent Literatures are incorporatedherein by reference.

In order to improve convenience of a translation device, for example, itis necessary to make speakers and listeners unaware of presence of thetranslation device as much as possible during use of the translationdevice so that the speakers and the listeners would feel they are makingnatural conversations even through when the translation device.

In a case of a portable or wearable translation device that uses itsdisplay for feeding back the retranslated results to a speaker of thefirst language, providing such a display would increase the entire sizeof the translation device. Therefore, some translation devices are notprovided with displays and occasionally carry out the feedback onlythrough a voice. However, when a speaker of the second language hearssuch a voice in the first language, which has been output as the resultof the retranslation together with a translated voice of the secondlanguage, the conversation between the first speaker and the secondspeaker might be disturbed.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure provides a wearable device and a translationsystem that keep natural conversations when the conversations betweenspeakers of different languages are translated and then the translatedresults are retranslated.

A wearable device according to one exemplary embodiment of the presentdisclosure is attachable to a specific position of a body of a user. Thewearable device includes a microphone device that obtains a voice of afirst language from the user and converts the voice into a first audiosignal of the first language. Further, the wearable device includes acontrol circuit and an audio processing circuit. The control circuitobtains an audio signal of a second language converted from the firstaudio signal of the first language and obtains a second audio signal ofthe first language obtained by reconversion of the audio signal of thesecond language. The audio processing circuit executes a specificprocess on the second audio signal of the first language. Further, thewearable device includes a first speaker device and a second speakerdevice. The first speaker device converts the audio signal of the secondlanguage into a first voice and outputs the first voice. The secondspeaker device converts the processed second audio signal of the firstlanguage into a second voice and outputs the second voice. The audioprocessing circuit executes the specific process on the second audiosignal of the first language so that the second voice to be output fromthe second speaker device is directed toward a user's auditory part,based on a position of the user's auditory part relative to the secondspeaker device.

The wearable translation device and the translation system of thepresent disclosure are effective in keeping natural conversations whenconversations between speakers of different languages are translated andthen the translated results are retranslated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a translationsystem according to a first exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a first example of a state in which auser wears a wearable translation device of the translation systemaccording to the first exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a second example of the state in whicha user wears the wearable translation device of the translation systemaccording to the first exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a third example of the state in which auser wears the wearable translation device of the translation systemaccording to the first exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram illustrating a first portion of anoperation of the translation system according to the first exemplaryembodiment;

FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram illustrating a second portion of theoperation of the translation system according to the first exemplaryembodiment;

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating measurement of a position of a user'sauditory part relative to a speaker device of the wearable translationdevice of the translation system according to the first exemplaryembodiment;

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a direction of voices to be output fromthe speaker device when the wearable translation device of thetranslation system according to the first exemplary embodiment is used;

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of thetranslation system according to a second exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of thetranslation system according to a third exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram illustrating an operation of thetranslation system according to the third exemplary embodiment; and

FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the wearabletranslation device of the translation system according to a fourthexemplary embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Exemplary embodiments are described in detail below suitably withreference to the drawings. Description that is in more detail thannecessary is occasionally omitted. For example, detailed descriptionabout already well-known matters or overlapped description about thesubstantially same configurations is occasionally omitted. This isbecause the following description is avoided from being unnecessarilyredundant, and a person skilled in the art is made to easily understandthe present disclosure.

The accompanying drawings and the following description are provided fora person skilled in the art to fully understand the present disclosure,and do not intend to limit the subject matter described in claims.

First Exemplary Embodiment

A wearable translation device according to the first exemplaryembodiment is described below with reference to FIG. 1 to FIG. 8.

1-1. Configuration

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of translationsystem 100 according to the first exemplary embodiment. Translationsystem 100 includes wearable translation device 1, access point device2, speech recognition server device 3, machine translation server device4, and voice synthesis server device 5.

Wearable translation device 1 can be attached to a predeterminedposition of a user's body. Wearable translation device 1 is attached toa thoracic region or an abdominal region of the user, for example.Wearable translation device 1 wirelessly communicates with access pointdevice 2. Access point device 2 communicates with speech recognitionserver device 3, machine translation server device 4, and voicesynthesis server device 5 via the Internet, for example. Therefore,wearable translation device 1 communicates with speech recognitionserver device 3, machine translation server device 4, and voicesynthesis server device 5 via access point device 2. Speech recognitionserver device 3 converts an audio signal into a text. Machinetranslation server device 4 converts a text of a first language into atext of a second language, and converts the text of the second languageinto the text of the first language. Voice synthesis server device 5converts a text into an audio signal.

Speech recognition server device 3, machine translation server device 4,and voice synthesis server device 5 are computer devices each of whichhas a control circuit such as a CPU or a memory. In speech recognitionserver device 3, the control circuit executes a process for convertingan audio signal of a first language into a text of the first languageaccording to a predetermined program. In machine translation serverdevice 4, the control circuit executes a process for converting the textof the first language into a text of a second language according to apredetermined program. In voice synthesis server device 5, the controlcircuit converts the text of the second language into an audio signal ofthe second language according to a predetermined program. In thisexemplary embodiment, speech recognition server device 3, machinetranslation server device 4, and voice synthesis server device 5 areformed by individual computer devices. They may be, however, formed by asingle server device, or formed by a plurality of server devices so asto execute distributed functions.

In this exemplary embodiment, a case where a user of wearabletranslation device 1 is a speaker of a first language and the userconverses with a speaker of a second language who is face-to-face withthe user will be described. Further, this exemplary embodiment describesa case where the first language is Japanese and the second language isEnglish. In the following description, the speaker of the secondlanguage does not utter a voice and participates in a conversation onlyas a listener. Further, retranslation means to translate a secondlanguage, which has been translated from a first language different fromthe second language, into the first language again.

Wearable translation device 1 includes control circuit 11, positionmeasuring device 12, microphone device 13, wireless communicationcircuit 14, speaker device 15, audio processing circuit 16, and speakerdevice 17. Position measuring device 12 measures a position of anauditory part of user 31 (for example a right ear, a left ear, or bothears) relative to speaker device 17. Microphone device 13 obtains avoice of the first language from the user and converts the voice into anaudio signal of the first language. Wireless communication circuit 14communicates with speech recognition server device 3, machinetranslation server device 4, and voice synthesis server device 5, whichare outside wearable translation device 1, via access point device 2.Control circuit 11 obtains an audio signal of a second language, whichhas been translated from an audio signal of a first language, fromspeech recognition server device 3, machine translation server device 4,and voice synthesis server device 5, via wireless communication circuit14. Control circuit 11 then obtains an audio signal of the firstlanguage to be output as a result of retranslating the audio signal ofthe second language. Audio processing circuit 16 executes apredetermined process on the audio signal of the first language to beoutput as a result of the retranslation. Speaker device 15 converts theaudio signal of the second language into a voice and outputs the voice.Speaker device 17 converts the processed audio signal of the firstlanguage into a voice and outputs the voice.

Wearable translation device 1 includes a plurality of speakers thatconverts the audio signal of the second language and/or the processedaudio signal of the first language into a voice and outputs the voice.At least one of the plurality of speakers forms first speaker device 15,and at least two of the plurality of speakers form second speaker device17.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a first example of a state in whichuser 31 wears wearable translation device 1 of translation system 100according to the first exemplary embodiment. User 31 wears wearabletranslation device 1 on his/her neck using strap 21, for example, suchthat wearable translation device 1 is located at a thoracic region orabdominal region of user 31. Microphone device 13 is a microphone arrayincluding at least two microphones arranged in a vertical direction withrespect to the ground at intervals of a predetermined distance when user31 wears wearable translation device 1 as shown in FIG. 2, for example.Microphone device 13 has a sound beam in a direction from microphonedevice 13 to vocal part 31 a of the user (for example, a mouth). Thevocal part means a portion including not only a user's mouth but also aregion around the user's mouth such as a jaw and an area under a nose.Namely, the vocal part is a portion where information about a distancefrom speaker device 17 can be obtained. Speaker device 15 is provided soas to output a voice toward a listener who is face-to-face with user 31when user 31 wears wearable translation device 1 as shown in FIG. 8.Speaker device 17 is provided so as to output a voice toward auditorypart 31 b of user 31 (for example the right ear, the left ear, or boththe ears) when user 31 wears wearable translation device 1 as shown inFIG. 8. When user 31 wears wearable translation device 1 as shown inFIG. 2, for example, speaker device 15 is provided to a front surface ofwearable translation device 1, and speaker device 17 is provided to anupper surface of wearable translation device 1.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a second example of the state in whichuser 31 wears wearable translation device 1 of translation system 100according to the first exemplary embodiment. Wearable translation device1 may be attached to a thoracic region or an abdominal region ofclothes, which user 31 wears, by a pin or the like. Wearable translationdevice 1 may be in the form of a name plate.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a third example of the state in whichuser 31 wears wearable translation device 1 of translation system 100according to the first exemplary embodiment. Wearable translation device1 may be attached to an arm of user 31 through belt 22, for example.

In wearable translation device 1 of FIG. 1, audio processing circuit 16executes a process (direction process) on an audio signal of the firstlanguage to be output as the result of the retranslation so that thevoice to be output from speaker device 17 is directed toward auditorypart 31 b of user 31, based on the position of auditory part 31 b ofuser 31 relative to speaker device 17. This will be described below.

1-2. Operation

FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram illustrating a first portion of anoperation of translation system 100 according to the first exemplaryembodiment. When an audio signal of a Japanese language (a firstlanguage) is input from user 31 via microphone device 13, controlcircuit 11 transmits the input audio signal to speech recognition serverdevice 3. Speech recognition server device 3 performs speech recognitionon the input audio signal, generates a text of the recognized Japaneselanguage, and transmits the text to control circuit 11. When controlcircuit 11 receives the Japanese text from speech recognition serverdevice 3, control circuit 11 transmits the Japanese text as well as acontrol signal to machine translation server device 4. The controlsignal includes an instruction to translate the text from Japanese toEnglish. Machine translation server device 4 performs machinetranslation on the Japanese text, generates a text of the Englishlanguage (a second language) as a result of translation, and transmitsthe text to control circuit 11. When control circuit 11 receives theEnglish text from machine translation server device 4, control circuit11 transmits the English text to voice synthesis server device 5. Voicesynthesis server device 5 performs voice synthesis on the English text,generates a synthesized audio signal of the English language, andtransmits the audio signal to control circuit 11. When control circuit11 receives the English audio signal from voice synthesis server device5, speaker device 15 converts the English audio signal into a voice andoutputs the voice.

FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram illustrating a second portion of theoperation of translation system 100 according to the first exemplaryembodiment. FIG. 6 illustrates the operation performed after theoperation in FIG. 5. When receiving the English (the second language)audio signal from voice synthesis server device 5, control circuit 11transmits the English audio signal to speech recognition server device 3in order for the English audio signal to be retranslated. Speechrecognition server device 3 performs speech recognition on the Englishaudio signal, generates a text of the recognized English language, andtransmits the text to control circuit 11. When control circuit 11receives the English text from speech recognition server device 3,control circuit 11 transmits the English text as well as a controlsignal to machine translation server device 4. The control signalincludes an instruction to translate the text from English to Japanese.Machine translation server device 4 performs machine translation on theEnglish text, generates a Japanese (the first language) text to beoutput as a result of the retranslation, and transmits the text tocontrol circuit 11. When control circuit 11 receives the Japanese textfrom machine translation server device 4, control circuit 11 transmitsthe Japanese text to voice synthesis server device 5. Voice synthesisserver device 5 performs voice synthesis on the Japanese text, generatesa synthesized audio signal of the Japanese language, and transmits theaudio signal to control circuit 11. When control circuit 11 receives theJapanese audio signal from voice synthesis server device 5, controlcircuit 11 transmits the Japanese audio signal to audio processingcircuit 16. Audio processing circuit 16 processes the audio signal ofthe first language to be output as the result of the retranslation sothat a voice to be output form speaker device 17 is directed towardauditory part 31 b of user 31, based on the position of auditory part 31b of user 31 relative to speaker device 17. Audio processing circuit 16converts the processed audio signal into a voice and outputs the voicethrough speaker device 17.

When the detection is not made that auditory part 31 b is positionedwithin a predetermined distance from wearable translation device 1 orwhen the detection is not made that auditory part 31 b is in apredetermined direction with respect to wearable translation device 1 (adirection toward which speaker device 17 faces: for example, an upperdirection), audio processing circuit 16 may end the process withoutoutputting a voice.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating measurement of the position of auditorypart 31 b of user 31 relative to speaker device 17 of wearabletranslation device 1 of the translation system 100 according to thefirst exemplary embodiment. Position measuring device 12 is provided onan upper surface of wearable translation device 1 when user 31 wearswearable translation device 1 as shown in FIG. 7, for example. Positionmeasuring device 12 has a speaker and a microphone. In positionmeasuring device 12, the speaker radiates an impulse signal toward ahead of user 31, and the microphone receives the impulse signalreflected from a lower jaw of user 31. As a result, position measuringdevice 12 measures distance D between position measuring device 12 andthe lower jaw of user 31. The position of speaker device 17 relative toposition measuring device 12 is determined. Since variations in theposition of a right ear and a left ear relative to lower jaws ofindividual users 31 do not make much difference, such a relativeposition can be preset. Therefore, when user 31 wears wearabletranslation device 1 as shown in FIG. 7, the position of auditory part31 b of user 31 relative to speaker device 17 can be obtained ifdistance D is obtained.

In this example, the position of auditory part 31 b of user 31 withrespect to speaker device 17 is detected through measurement of thedistance between speaker device 17 and the lower jaw of user 31, butanother detecting method may be used. That is to say, the position ofauditory part 31 b of user 31 may be detected so that a voice fromspeaker device 17 is directed toward auditory part 31 b of user 31.

Position measuring device 12 may measure the position of the auditorypart of user 31 relative to speaker device 17 using the technique in PTL3 or PTL 4, for example.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating directions of voices to be output fromthe speaker devices 15 and 17 respectively when wearable translationdevice 1 of translation system 100 according to the first exemplaryembodiment is used. User 31 is the speaker of the first language, andcomes face-to-face with listener 32 who speaks the second language.Under the normal condition where user 31 and listener 32 have aconversation, user 31 faces listener 32 with a distance of about 1 m to3 m between them while they are in a standing or seated posture. Whenuser 31 wears wearable translation device 1 as shown in FIG. 2, forexample, wearable translation device 1 is located below auditory part 31b of user 31 and is within a range between a portion right below a neckand a waist of user 31. Further, auditory parts (both ears) 31 b, 32 bof user 31 and listener 32 are in a horizontal plane which is parallelto the ground. In this case, a technique of stereo dipole reproduction,for example, can be used for outputting a voice from speaker device 17to the auditory parts of user 31. Speaker device 17 includes twospeakers disposed so as to be close to each other, and performs stereodipole reproduction. Audio processing circuit 16 filters the audiosignal of the first language to be output as the result of theretranslation so that the voice to be output from speaker device 17 isdirected toward auditory part 31 b of user 31, based on the position ofauditory part 31 b of user 31 relative to speaker device 17 and ahead-related transfer function of user 31.

Audio processing circuit 16 may execute the following process instead ofthe stereo dipole reproduction. Speaker device 17 includes a pluralityof speakers disposed at intervals of a predetermined distance. Audioprocessing circuit 16 splits an audio signal of the second language intoplural audio signals corresponding to the plurality of speakers. Audioprocessing circuit 16 directs the voice to be output from speaker device17 toward auditory part 31 b of user 31. Audio processing circuit 16 maychange a phase so that the split audio signals arrive at the right andleft ears at the same time. As a result, the direction of the voice tobe output from speaker device 17 can be changed.

Speaker device 15 includes plural speakers disposed at intervals of apredetermined distance, and may have a sound beam in a direction fromspeaker device 15 to a virtual person (for example, listener 32) who isface-to-face with user 31.

Wearable translation device 1 may have a gravity sensor that detectswhether wearable translation device 1 practically keeps still. Whenwearable translation device 1 is moving, the position of the auditorypart of user 31 relative to speaker device 17 cannot be accuratelymeasured. Therefore, the measurement of the position of the auditorypart of user 31 relative to speaker device 17 may be suspended.Alternatively, when wearable translation device 1 is moving, theposition of the auditory part of user 31 relative to speaker device 17may be roughly measured. In this case, audio processing circuit 16 mayprocess the audio signal of the first language, which is to be output asthe result of the retranslation, based on the roughly measured relativeposition so that the voice to be output from speaker device 17 isdirected toward the auditory part of user 31.

More specifically, first, position measuring device 12 may roughlymeasure the position of the auditory part of user 31 relative to speakerdevice 17 (for example, when user 31 puts on wearable translation device1). Next, audio processing circuit 16 may process the audio signal ofthe first language, which is to be output as the result of theretranslation, based on the roughly measured relative position so thatthe voice to be output from speaker device 17 is directed towardauditory part 31 b of user 31. Then, position measuring device 12 maymeasure the position of auditory part 31 b of user 31 relative tospeaker device 17 more accurately. Finally, audio processing circuit 16may process the audio signal of the first language, which is to beoutput as the result of the retranslation, based on the more accurateposition of auditory part 31 b of user 31 relative to speaker device 17so that the voice to be output from speaker device 17 is directed towardthe auditory part of user 31.

1-3. Effects

A wearable device corresponding to wearable translation device 1according to the first exemplary embodiment is attachable to a specificposition of a body of user 31. The wearable device includes microphonedevice 13 that obtains a voice of the first language from user 31 andconverts the voice into an audio signal of the first language. Further,the wearable device includes control circuit 11 and audio processingcircuit 16. Control circuit 11 obtains an audio signal of the secondlanguage converted from the audio signal of the first language andobtains the audio signal of the first language reconverted from theaudio signal of the second language. Audio processing circuit 16executes a specific process on the reconverted audio signal of the firstlanguage. Further, wearable translation device 1 includes a firstspeaker device corresponding to speaker device 15 and a second speakerdevice corresponding to speaker device 17. The first speaker deviceconverts an audio signal of the second language into a first voice andoutputs the first voice. The second speaker device converts the audiosignal of the first language which has undergone the specific processinto a second voice and outputs the second voice. Audio processingcircuit 16 processes the reconverted audio signal of the first languageso that the second voice to be output from the second speaker device isdirected toward auditory part 31 b of user 31, based on a position ofthe auditory part of user 31 relative to the second speaker device. Thewearable device corresponding to wearable translation device 1 can beconfigured so that natural conversations are hardly deteriorated evenwhen a conversation between speakers of different languages isconverted, the converted result is reconverted and the reconvertedresult is fed back only as a voice without a display on which thereconverted result is displayed. As a result, the translation can becarried out giving users such feelings as “simpleness” and “lightness”,which are characteristics of a wearable translation device. Further,since the reconverted voice is reproduced precisely at user's ear, user31 easily recognizes the reconverted voice and can check if contents ofthe converted conversation are correct only through a voice withoutusing a display.

Wearable translation device 1 according to the first exemplaryembodiment may be attached to a thoracic region or an abdominal regionof user 31. As a result, the translation can be carried out giving userssuch feelings as “simpleness” and “lightness”, which are characteristicsof a wearable translation device.

In the wearable device corresponding to wearable translation device 1according to the first exemplary embodiment, the second speaker devicecorresponding to speaker device 17 includes two speakers disposed to beclose to each other, and may perform stereo dipole reproduction.Further, audio processing circuit 16 may process the reconverted audiosignal of the first language, based on a position of auditory part 31 bof user 31 relative to the second speaker device corresponding tospeaker device 17 and a head-related transfer function of user 31. As aresult, the reconverted voice can be reproduced precisely at user's earsby use of an existent technique of the stereo dipole reproduction.

In the wearable device corresponding to wearable translation device 1according to the first exemplary embodiment, the second speaker devicecorresponding to speaker device 17 may include plural speakers disposedat intervals of a predetermined distance. Further, audio processingcircuit 16 splits the reconverted audio signal of the first languageinto plural audio signals corresponding to the plural speakers. Audioprocessing circuit 16 then may adjust phases of the plural split audiosignals. As a result, the reconverted voice can be reproduced preciselyat the user's ears by use of an existent technique of beam forming.

In the wearable device corresponding to wearable translation device 1according to the first exemplary embodiment, microphone device 13 mayinclude a plurality of microphones disposed at intervals of apredetermined distance. Further, microphone device 13 has a sound beamin a direction from microphone device 13 to vocal part 31 a of user 31.As a result, the wearable device is less susceptible to noises otherthan a voice of user 31 (for example, a voice of listener 32 in FIG. 8).

In the wearable device corresponding to wearable translation device 1according to the first exemplary embodiment, the first speaker devicecorresponding to speaker device 15 may include a plurality of speakersdisposed at intervals of a predetermined distance. Further, the firstspeaker device corresponding to speaker device 15 may have a sound beamin a direction from the first speaker device to a virtual person who isface-to-face with user 31. As a result, user 31 is less susceptible tothe converted voice of the second language, and easily recognizes thereconverted voice of the first language.

The wearable device corresponding to wearable translation device 1according to the first exemplary embodiment may further include positionmeasuring device 12. Position measuring device 12 measures the positionof auditory part 31 b of user 31 relative to the second speaker devicecorresponding to speaker device 17. As a result, the reconverted voicecan be reproduced precisely at the user's ears based on the actualposition of the auditory part of user 31 relative to speaker device 17.

Translation system 100 according to the first exemplary embodimentincludes the wearable device corresponding to wearable translationdevice 1 further including a communication circuit corresponding towireless communication circuit 14. Translation system 100 may includespeech recognition server device 3, machine translation server device 4,and voice synthesis server device 5 that are outside the wearabledevice. Speech recognition server device 3 may convert an audio signalof the first language into a text of the first language, and may convertan audio signal of the second language into a text of the secondlanguage. Machine translation server device 4 may convert the text ofthe first language into the text of the second language, and mayreconvert the text of the second language into the text of the firstlanguage. Voice synthesis server device 5 may convert the text of thesecond language into the audio signal of the second language, and mayconvert the text of the first language into the audio signal of thefirst language. Control circuit 11 may obtain the audio signal of thesecond language and the reconverted audio signal of the first languagefrom voice synthesis server device 5 via a communication circuitcorresponding to wireless communication circuit 14. As a result, theconfiguration of wearable translation device 1 can be simplified. Forexample, speech recognition server device 3, machine translation serverdevice 4, and voice synthesis server device 5 may be provided by a thirdparty (cloud service) different from a manufacturer or a seller ofwearable translation device 1. Use of the cloud service can provide, forexample, a multi-lingual wearable translation device at low cost.

Second Exemplary Embodiment

A wearable translation device according to the second exemplaryembodiment is described below with reference to FIG. 9.

Components that are similar to the components of translation system 100and wearable translation device 1 in the first exemplary embodiment aredenoted by the same symbols and description thereof is occasionallyomitted.

2-1. Configuration

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of translationsystem 200 according to the second exemplary embodiment. Wearabletranslation device 1A of translation system 200 according to the secondexemplary embodiment includes user input device 18 instead of positionmeasuring device 12 in FIG. 1. Otherwise, wearable translation device 1Aof FIG. 9 is configured similarly to wearable translation device 1 inFIG. 1.

2-2. Operation

User input device 18 obtains a user input that specifies a position ofauditory part 31 b of user 31 relative to speaker device 17 (FIG. 7).User input device 18 is formed by a touch panel or buttons.

A plurality of predetermined distances (for example, far (60 cm), middle(40 cm), and close (20 cm)) corresponding to distance D in FIG. 7 isselectively set in wearable translation device 1A. The user can selectany one of these distances using user input device 18. Control circuit11 obtains the position of auditory part 31 b of user 31 relative tospeaker device 17 based on the distance input from user input device 18.

2-3. Effect

A wearable device corresponding to wearable translation device 1Aaccording to the second exemplary embodiment may further include userinput device 18 that obtains a user input specifying the position ofauditory part 31 b of user 31 relative to the second speaker devicecorresponding to speaker device 17. Since position measuring device 12in FIG. 1 is removed, the configuration of wearable translation device1A in FIG. 9 is made to be simpler than the configuration of wearabletranslation device 1 in FIG. 1.

Third Exemplary Embodiment

A wearable translation device according to the third exemplaryembodiment is described below with reference to FIG. 10 and FIG. 11.

Components that are similar to the components of translation system 100and wearable translation device 1 in the first exemplary embodiment aredenoted by the same symbols and description thereof is occasionallyomitted.

3-1. Configuration

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of translationsystem 300 according to the third exemplary embodiment. Translationsystem 300 includes wearable translation device 1, access point device2, and translation server device 41. Translation server device 41includes speech recognition server device 3A, machine translation serverdevice 4A, and voice synthesis server device 5A. Wearable translationdevice 1 and access point device 2 in FIG. 10 are configured similarlyto wearable translation device 1 and access point device 2 in FIG. 1.Speech recognition server device 3A, machine translation server device4A, and voice synthesis server device 5A in FIG. 10 have the functionsthat are similar to the functions of speech recognition server device 3,machine translation server device 4, and voice synthesis server device 5in FIG. 1, respectively. Access point device 2 communicates withtranslation server device 41 via, for example, the Internet. Therefore,wearable translation device 1 communicates with translation serverdevice 41 via access point device 2.

3-2. Operation

FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram illustrating an operation of translationsystem 300 according to the third exemplary embodiment. When an audiosignal of a Japanese language (a first language) is input from user 31via microphone device 13, control circuit 11 transmits the input audiosignal to translation server device 41. Speech recognition server device3A of translation server device 41 performs speech recognition on theinput audio signal, generates a text of the recognized Japaneselanguage, and transmits the text to machine translation server device4A. Machine translation server device 4A performs machine translation onthe Japanese text, generates a text of the English language (a secondlanguage) as a result of the translation, and transmits the text tovoice synthesis server device 5A. Voice synthesis server device 5Aperforms voice synthesis on the English text, generates a synthesizedaudio signal of the English language, and transmits the audio signal tocontrol circuit 11. When control circuit 11 receives the English audiosignal from voice synthesis server device 5A, speaker device 15 convertsthe English audio signal into a voice and outputs the voice.

When receiving the audio signal of the English language (the secondlanguage) from voice synthesis server device 5A, control circuit 11transmits the English audio signal to translation server device 41 forretranslation. Speech recognition server device 3A of translation serverdevice 41 performs speech recognition on the English audio signal,generates a text of the recognized English language, and transmits thetext to machine translation server device 4A. Machine translation serverdevice 4A performs machine translation on the English text, generates atext of the Japanese language (the first language) as a result of theretranslation, and transmits the text to voice synthesis server device5A. Voice synthesis server device 5A performs voice synthesis on theJapanese text, generates a synthesized audio signal of the Japaneselanguage, and transmits the audio signal to wearable translation device1. When control circuit 11 receives the Japanese audio signal from voicesynthesis server device 5A, control circuit 11 transmits the Japaneseaudio signal to audio processing circuit 16. Audio processing circuit 16processes the audio signal of the first language, which is to be outputas a result of retranslation, based on the position of auditory part 31b of user 31 relative to speaker device 17 so that a voice to be outputfrom speaker device 17 is directed toward the auditory part 31 b of user31. Audio processing circuit 16 makes speaker device 17 convert theprocessed audio signal into a voice and output the converted voice.

3-3. Effect

Translation system 300 according to the third exemplary embodiment mayinclude speech recognition server device 3A, machine translation serverdevice 4A, and voice synthesis server device 5A as integratedtranslation server device 41. As a result, a number of communicationtimes can be made to be smaller than the number of communication timesof translation system 100 including wearable translation device 1according to the first exemplary embodiment, so that a time and powerconsumption necessary for the communication can be reduced.

Fourth Exemplary Embodiment

A wearable translation device according to the fourth exemplaryembodiment is described below with reference to FIG. 12.

Components that are similar to the components of translation system 100and wearable translation device 1 in the first exemplary embodiment aredenoted by the same symbols and description thereof is occasionallyomitted.

4-1. Configuration

FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of wearabletranslation device 1B according to the fourth exemplary embodiment.Wearable translation device 1B in FIG. 12 has functions of speechrecognition server device 3, machine translation server device 4, andvoice synthesis server device 5 in FIG. 1. Wearable translation device1B includes control circuit 11B, position measuring device 12,microphone device 13, speaker device 15, audio processing circuit 16,speaker device 17, speech recognition circuit 51, machine translationcircuit 52, and voice synthesis circuit 53. Position measuring device12, microphone device 13, speaker device 15, audio processing circuit16, and speaker device 17 in FIG. 12 are configured similarly to thecorresponding components in FIG. 1. Speech recognition circuit 51,machine translation circuit 52, and voice synthesis circuit 53 havefunctions that are similar to the functions of speech recognition serverdevice 3, machine translation server device 4, and voice synthesisserver device 5 in FIG. 1. Control circuit 11B obtains an audio signalof the second language and an audio signal of the first language. Theaudio signal of the second language, which is translated from the audiosignal of the first language, is retranslated into an audio signal ofthe first language by use of speech recognition circuit 51, machinetranslation circuit 52, and voice synthesis circuit 53.

4-2. Operation

When the audio signal of the Japanese language (a first language) isinput from user 31 via microphone device 13, control circuit 11Btransmits the input audio signal to speech recognition circuit 51.Speech recognition circuit 51 performs speech recognition on the inputaudio signal, generates a text of the recognized Japanese language, andtransmits the text to control circuit 11B. When control circuit 11Breceives the Japanese text from speech recognition circuit 51, controlcircuit 11B transmits the Japanese text as well as a control signal tomachine translation circuit 52. The control signal includes aninstruction to translate the text from Japanese to English. Machinetranslation circuit 52 performs machine translation on the Japanesetext, generates a text of the English language (a second language) as aresult of the translation, and transmits the text to control circuit11B. When control circuit 11B receives the English text from machinetranslation circuit 52, control circuit 11B transmits the English textto voice synthesis circuit 53. Voice synthesis circuit 53 performs voicesynthesis on the English text, generates a synthesized signal of theEnglish language, and transmits the audio signal to control circuit 11B.When control circuit 11B receives the English audio signal from voicesynthesis circuit 53, speaker device 15 converts the English audiosignal into a voice and outputs the voice.

When the audio signal of the English language (the second language) istransmitted from voice synthesis circuit 53, control circuit 11Btransmits the English audio signal to speech recognition circuit 51 forretranslation. Speech recognition circuit 51 executes speech recognitionon the English audio signal, generates a text of the recognized Englishlanguage, and transmits the text to control circuit 11B. When controlcircuit 11B receives the English text from speech recognition circuit51, control circuit 11B transmits the English text as well as a controlsignal to machine translation circuit 52. The control signal includes aninstruction to retranslate the text from English to Japanese. Machinetranslation circuit 52 performs machine translation on the English text,generates a text of the Japanese language (the first language) as aresult of the retranslation, and transmits the text to control circuit11B. When control circuit 11B receives the Japanese text from machinetranslation circuit 52, control circuit 11B transmits the Japanese textto voice synthesis circuit 53. Voice synthesis circuit 53 performs voicesynthesis on the Japanese text, generates a synthesized Japanese audiosignal, and transmits the audio signal to control circuit 11B. Whencontrol circuit 11B receives the Japanese audio signal from voicesynthesis circuit 53, control circuit 11B transmits the Japanese audiosignal to audio processing circuit 16. Audio processing circuit 16processes the audio signal of the first language, which is to be outputas the result of the retranslation, based on the position of auditorypart 31 b of user 31 relative to speaker device 17 so that a voice to beoutput form speaker device 17 is directed toward auditory part 31 b ofuser 31. Audio processing circuit 16 makes speaker device 17 convert theprocessed audio signal into a voice and output the converted voice.

Speech recognition circuit 51 performs speech recognition and generatesa text of the recognized first language. Thereafter, speech recognitioncircuit 51 may transmit the text not to control circuit 11B but tomachine translation circuit 52. Similarly, machine translation circuit52 performs machine translation and generates a translated orretranslated text. Thereafter, machine translation circuit 52 maytransmit the text not to control circuit 11B but to voice synthesiscircuit 53.

4-3. Effect

The wearable device corresponding to wearable translation device 1Baccording to the fourth exemplary embodiment may further include speechrecognition circuit 51, machine translation circuit 52, and voicesynthesis circuit 53. Speech recognition circuit 51 converts an audiosignal of the first language into a text of the first language. Machinetranslation circuit 52 converts the text of the first language into atext of the second language. Voice synthesis circuit 53 converts thetext of the second language into an audio signal of the second language.Further, control circuit 11B may obtain the audio signal of the secondlanguage from voice synthesis circuit 53. Speech recognition circuit 51may convert the audio signal of the second language into the text of thesecond language. Machine translation circuit 52 may reconvert the textof the second language into the text of the first language. Voicesynthesis circuit 53 may convert the reconverted text of the firstlanguage into the audio signal of the first language. Control circuit11B may obtain the audio signal of the first language from voicesynthesis circuit 53. As a result, wearable translation device 1B cantranslate conversations between speakers of different languages withoutcommunicating with an external server device.

Other Exemplary Embodiments

The first to fourth exemplary embodiments are described above asexamples of the technique disclosed in the present application. However,the technique in the present disclosure is not limited to the first tothe fourth exemplary embodiments and can be applied also to exemplaryembodiments where modifications, substitutions, additions and omissionsare suitably performed. Further, the respective components described inthe first to fourth exemplary embodiments are combined so that anotherexemplary embodiment can be constructed.

Therefore, other exemplary embodiments are illustrated below.

The first to third exemplary embodiments describe wireless communicationcircuit 14 as one example of the communication circuit of the wearabletranslation device. However, any communication circuit may be used aslong as it can communicate with a speech recognition server device, amachine translation server device, and a voice synthesis server device,which are provided on the outside of the circuit. Therefore, thewearable translation device may be connected with the speech recognitionserver device, the machine translation server device, and the voicesynthesis server device on the outside of the wearable translationdevice via a wire.

The first to fourth exemplary embodiments illustrate the controlcircuit, the communication circuit, and the audio processing circuit ofthe wearable translation device as individual blocks, but these circuitsmay be configured as a single integrated circuit chip. Further, thefunctions of the control circuit, the communication circuit, and theaudio processing circuit of the wearable translation device may beconstructed by a general-purpose processor that executes programs.

The first to fourth exemplary embodiments describe the case where onlyone user (speaker) uses the wearable translation device, but thewearable translation device may be used by a plurality of speakers ofdifferent languages who tries to have conversations with each other.

In the first to fourth exemplary embodiments, an audio signal of a firstlanguage to be output as a result of retranslation is processed so thata voice to be output from speaker device 17 is directed toward auditorypart 31 b of user 31. However, the audio signal of the first language tobe output as the result of the retranslation may be processed so thatthe voice to be output from speaker device 17 is directed toward someother part than the auditory part of user 31.

The first to fourth exemplary embodiments describe the case where thefirst language is Japanese and the second language is English, but thefirst language and the second language may be any other languages.

According to the first and second exemplary embodiments, speechrecognition server device 3 performs speech recognition on both thefirst language and the second language, machine translation serverdevice 4 performs both translation from the first language to the secondlanguage and from the second language to the first language, and voicesynthesis server device 5 performs voice synthesis on both the firstlanguage and the second language. Alternatively, individual speechrecognition server devices may be used in order to perform speechrecognition on the first language and speech recognition on the secondlanguage, respectively. Individual machine translation server devicesmay be used in order to perform the translation from the first languageto the second language and the translation from the second language tothe first language, respectively. Individual voice synthesis serverdevices may be used in order to perform the voice synthesis on the firstlanguage and the voice synthesis on the second language, respectively.Much the same is true for translation server device 41 in the thirdexemplary embodiment, and speech recognition circuit 51, machinetranslation circuit 52, and voice synthesis circuit 53 in the fourthexemplary embodiment.

In the first to fourth exemplary embodiments, after speaker device 15converts the audio signal of the second language as translated into avoice and outputs the voice, the audio signal of the second language isretranslated. Alternatively, control circuit 11 may delay conversion ofthe audio signal of the second language into a voice and output of thevoice from speaker device 15 until control circuit 11 obtains the audiosignal of the first language to be output as the result of theretranslation. Control circuit 11 may make speaker device 15 convert theaudio signal of the second language into a voice and output the voice,and practically at the same time, may make speaker device 17 convert theprocessed audio signal of the first language as a result ofretranslation into a voice and output the voice. Further, the wearabletranslation device may include the user input device. In this case, ifcontrol circuit 11 outputs the voice of the first language as the resultof the retranslation an obtains a user's input indicating that contentsof the output voice are appropriate through the user input device,control circuit 11 may then output the voice of the translated secondlanguage. By contrast, when obtaining the user input indicatinginappropriateness of the contents of the voice of the first languageoutput as the result of the retranslation through the user input device,control circuit 11 may then obtain another candidate for the text of thetranslated second language from machine translation server device 4 andoutput an audio signal of the first language obtained as a result of theretranslation of the text of the second language.

The exemplary embodiments are described above as the examples of thetechnique in the present disclosure. For this reason, the accompanyingdrawings and the detailed description are provided.

Therefore, the components described in the accompanying drawings and thedetailed description include not only components essential for solvingthe problem but also components that are not essential for solving theproblem in order to illustrate the technique. For this reason, even whenthe unessential components are described in the accompanying drawings orthe detailed description, they do not have to be recognized as beingessential.

Further, since the above exemplary embodiments illustrate the techniquein the present disclosure, various modifications, substitutions,additions and omissions can be performed within the scope of claims orequivalent scope of claims.

The present disclosure can provide the wearable translation device thathardly deteriorates natural conversation when the wearable translationdevice translates conversations between speakers of different languagesand retranslates the translated result.

What is claimed is:
 1. A wearable device attachable to a specificposition of a body of a user, the device comprising: a microphone devicethat obtains a voice of a first language from the user and converts thevoice into a first audio signal of the first language; a control circuitthat obtains an audio signal of a second language converted from thefirst audio signal of the first language and obtains a second audiosignal of the first language obtained by reconversion of the audiosignal of the second language; an audio processing circuit that executesa specific process on the second audio signal of the first language; afirst speaker device that converts the audio signal of the secondlanguage into a first voice and outputs the first voice; and a secondspeaker device that converts the second audio signal of the firstlanguage into a second voice and outputs the second voice, wherein theaudio processing circuit executes the specific process on the secondaudio signal of the first language so that the second voice to be outputfrom the second speaker device is directed toward an auditory part ofthe user, based on a position of the auditory part of the user relativeto the second speaker device.
 2. The wearable device according to claim1, wherein the second speaker device includes two speakers disposedclose to each other and executes stereo dipole reproduction, and theaudio processing circuit processes the specific process on the secondaudio signal of the first language based on the position of the auditorypart of the user relative to the second speaker device and ahead-related transfer function of the user.
 3. The wearable deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the second speaker device includes aplurality of speakers disposed at intervals of a predetermined distance,and the audio processing circuit splits the second audio signal of thefirst language into plural audio signals corresponding to the pluralityof speakers, and adjusts phases of the plural split audio signals,thereby executing the specific process on the second audio signal of thefirst language.
 4. The wearable device according to claim 1, wherein themicrophone device includes a plurality of microphones disposed atintervals of a predetermined distance and has a sound beam in adirection from the microphone device to the auditory part of the user.5. The wearable device according to claim 1, wherein the first speakerdevice includes a plurality of speakers disposed at intervals of apredetermined distance and has a sound beam in a direction from thefirst speaker device to a virtual person who is face-to-face with theuser.
 6. The wearable device according to claim 1, further comprising aposition measuring device that measures the position of the auditorypart of the user relative to the second speaker device.
 7. The wearabledevice according to claim 1, further comprising a user input device thatobtains a user input specifying the position of the auditory part of theuser relative to the second speaker device.
 8. The wearable deviceaccording to claim 1, further comprising: a speech recognition circuitthat converts the first audio signal of the first language into a firsttext of the first language; a machine translation circuit that convertsthe first text of the first language into a text of the second language;and a voice synthesis circuit that converts the text of the secondlanguage into the audio signal of the second language, wherein thecontrol circuit obtains the audio signal of the second language from thevoice synthesis circuit, the speech recognition circuit converts theaudio signal of the second language into the text of the secondlanguage, the machine translation circuit reconverts the text of thesecond language into a second text of the first language, the voicesynthesis circuit converts the second text of the first language intothe second audio signal of the first language, and the control circuitobtains the second audio signal of the first language from the voicesynthesis circuit.
 9. A translation system comprising: the wearabledevice of claim 1 further including a communication circuit; a speechrecognition server device connectable with the wearable device; amachine translation server device connectable with the wearable device;and a voice synthesis server device connectable with the wearabledevice, wherein the speech recognition server device converts the firstaudio signal of the first language into a first text of the firstlanguage and converts the audio signal of the second language into atext of the second language, the machine translation server deviceconverts the first text of the first language into the text of thesecond language and reconverts the text of the second language into asecond text of the first language, the voice synthesis server deviceconverts the text of the second language into the audio signal of thesecond language and converts the second text of the first language intothe second audio signal of the first language, and the control circuitobtains the audio signal of the second language and the second audiosignal of the first language from the voice synthesis server device viathe communication circuit.
 10. The translation system according to claim9, wherein the speech recognition server device, the machine translationserver device, and the voice synthesis server device are provided as anintegrated translation server device.